From hoopsworld.com: But Yao's agent Mingji Zhang said he would not support the claim that Yao is going to play the upcoming season with injury, "They(pins) will be taken out only if the player doesn't feel right, 10 or 20 years later, maybe," Zhang told reporters, "Yao is feeling well, and the recovery is on the track, fans don't need to get worried about this." (sina.com.cn)
I don't know if it's BS. Yao's agent's quote above seems to indicate that there are pins in his foot, but explains that the pins are not expected to be a hinderance. As I recall, pins are a part of this surgery. Not sure where I read it, but my memory is that there was an article on Big Z that says his foot contains many metal pins and would set off metal detectors at the airport.
Be careful of shooting the messenger. Explain why this is BS...just because of the source or because of conflicting, incontrovertible evidence?
I thought his foot was restructured with metal parts, so Im not really all that surprised hearing him playing with 16 pins in his foot.
i'm pretty sure it means playing SINCE having 16 pins inserted into his foot... right? i had a broken finger, had surgery, had pins inserted, but they took them out once my bones healed...
This could be used to other team's advantage, if they start putting magnets under their basket, preventing Yao from jumping. DD
But at crucial times if the magnets are powerful enough, they could also slow him down on his fast break. DD
I just thought of a great advantage to the other team holding Yao down with their powerful magnets. No longer will Yao switch pivot feet..... So, this could backfire on the other teams and work more towards OUR advantage. Bring on those giant HIDDEN MAGNETS you cheaters ! DD
I have one plate and 8 screws in my right ankle right now, had it inserted about 10yrs ago after injuring it during a basketball accident, its quite common to have those kinda stuff left there after surgery, it depends which bone is affected. I broke my fibula and the plate and screw is inserted there, if is on a non weight bearing bone then you don't have to remove unless it bothers you, that's what the doctor says. Didn't bother me, been playing basketball on it for years and it doesn't bother me. They usually use titanium, so magnet does not affect it
